Ethic infrastructure is required
The opinion of TI Korea regarding the result of the 2007 CPI
Ethic infrastructure is required for integrity Korea
The lower the level of CPI score gives us concerns
South Korea was today ranked with the 43rd among 180 countries and territories according to a report of the CPI 2007 by TI Korea. The 2007 corruption perceptions index scores countries on a scale from zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and 10 indicating low levels of perceived corruption and South Korea is get a score of 5.1 and it is the same as the last year. The CPI index stresses the importance of international evaluation for public sector corruption. The score we get gives us a burden and concerns as it disappoints citizen who has a strong desire for clean society and also, it is showing signs of stagnating for reform.
Last year South Korea rose from 50 among 99 countries with a score of 3.8 in 1999 to 43 among 163 with a score of 5.1 in the CPI index rankings. A sustained improvement was caused by a creation, development and operation of anti-corruption system with national level. For instance, Anti-corruption act which was arranged in 2001 and KICAC(Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption) was set in 2002 were prepared for anti-corruption. In addition to, K-PACT(Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency) which was based on widespread agreement was arranged and all those effort and outcome of TI Korea have been recognized internationally.
Unfortunately, however we hardly support and operate the systems we set up earlier. In effect, we had to admit that our initial will and determination have been weakened. In this circumstance, there were many scandals and everytime various recommendations were suggested, but they were all good-for-nothing.
Specially, a nation was rife with a judicial scandal in 2006 and a bribery scandal spreads a whole judical system as it connected among judge, prosecutor, the chief constable and broker. This year, TI Korea examined how an judicial system perform their reformation but a result was so poor. And it shows that there is a high correlation between scores of the 2007 CPI and result of judicature perform.
Therefore, TI Korea makes two recommendations:
- Fundamental and long-term moral infrastructure needed
Firstly, we ought to focus attention on bettering anti-corruption with a qualitatively transformation and a long-term performance. Until now, we have laid particular stress on high scores of transparency with a system reform and use of IT technology, but it is a time for us to focus on a high integrity and a strong accountability in the civil service, business and civil community. What is more, fighting judicial corruption and educating adolescents about ethics are urgent to change the public's consciousness, a general practice and public behaviour for a ethical society.
- KICAC requires to some reforms of its operation and more authorizations
Secondly, KICAC has a huge responsible for a slowdown of improvement in anti-corruption. For its duty, KICAC needs to reestablish its position then they can play a pivotal role for a clean society. Not only does the committee stand in centre in operation, it also needs to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. Besides, they have to respond to citizen's criticism.
With all these reformations, it needs a institutional and politic authorizations such as rights of investigation and administration of civil servant.
There is a lot of public concern about a degeneration with a coming presidential election. All the candidates have to make an effort for clean election and give pledges about anti-corruption. A next government has to inherit good outcome of previous governments, but at the same time, it needs to over come mistakes of ex-government. Most of all, when a nation become a watchdog with a great effort of will, it will be rewarded with a clean society.
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